SERIOUS questions have been raised over how an elderly man's body lay undiscovered for seven months in his Blackbird Leys flat until last week.

The remains of Thomas Yuill, who lived alone in a flat in Sorrel Road, were only found last Thursday after police broke into his house.

But the 82-year-old is believed to have died months ago, with his rent payments suddenly stopping in October last year having lived in his home for more than 40 years.

Council officers twice visited the house to chase missing rent payments but neither time notified emergency services about concerns for Mr Yuill's welfare. It was only after a statutory 28-day notice period issued in April by Oxford City Council had expired that they entered the property and made the grisly find.

Age UK Oxfordshire chief executive Paul Cann said: "Clearly this is worrying and begs all sorts of questions. We need to explore how it is that someone could live on their own without any social contact for that length of time."

Gordon Roper, the chairman of Blackbird Leys Parish Council, said officers should have checked on Mr Yuill's flat "two or three times a day" after the initial silence.

He added: "The council has got to look at themselves and ask 'why did we miss this?'."

City council ward representative Linda Smith said it was "unacceptable", adding: "Obviously something went wrong as far as the city council is concerned and we need to review our procedures as a result on this to make sure opportunities aren't missed."

Oxford East MP Andrew Smith said: "This is a terrible, tragic case that highlights the sad vulnerability of elderly people living alone who have no-one to care for them.

"It's just awful to think of someone lying there dead and no-one finding them after such a long delay."

City council spokesman Chofamba Sithole said it could only enter a property with a court order, which was gained in April.

But he failed to explain why nobody involved in the case contacted the police – who can enter properties if needed – in the months before.

He added officers would have had suspicions Mr Yuill may have died but it was "not unusual for tenants to pass away and no-one tell the council, particularly where there were no known next of kin".

He revealed Mr Yuill's recorded next of kin had died in 2012.

He said that in January, after Mr Yuill defaulted on rent payments, a housing manager visited the flat and noticed a 'musty' smell but did not venture inside because 'there were none of the usual signs of death'.

Then in April officers visited again with no response.

Council workers called the John Radcliffe Hospital, care homes and the Coroners' Office in an attempt to locate Mr Yuill before contacting police to help them break in on June 2.

Neighbours said they had been left shaken by the news. One woman, who asked to remain anonymous, said: "I am shocked. I feel so sorry for the poor old man, living on his own."

Fellow resident Gemma Woodthorpe, 33, said Mr Yuill was often tired and could not walk far.

The city council is now launching a "social isolation project" to contact the more than 700 residents aged over 75 living alone to talk to them about their personal circumstances.

City council spokeswoman Geraldine McIlwane added: "It is a distressing case which illustrates the fine balance between respect for the tenant’s right to privacy and the council’s role as a caring landlord."